I haven't seen as many obscure shows as I yet want to but one of my favourites would be Hyouge Mono, which I wrote a review about on my site if you want to read it. But since I've already talked about that one in-depth I'll talk about a different show that's near and dear to me instead.
That show is Chrono Crusade. I plan on doing a proper review for this one at some point but it's a really lovely show. Set in 1920s America and overlayed by a grimdark classic 2000s art style, it follows Rosette and Chrono. Rosette is a member of the Magdalene Order, a Christian order that basically goes around murking demons. Chrono is.. a demon. Yeah so there's gonna be a bit of conflict there lol, but for the most part the story follows a rewarding episodic structure for the first half or so of the series which I think tend to be rather well executed plotlines.
However shit quickly gets real around the midway point. I think though what I really love about this one is how it showcases time and memories. In my opinion the portrayal is very visceral and almost nostalgia inducing; the ending will really make you reflect and think. The bones of the show also are very entertaining to watch moment to moment. Ironically enough given the subject matter, this anime was actually quite well-known back in the 2000s but became one of those shows that faded into obscurity over time.
It also portrays the nobility of self-sacrifice and one's willingness to do the right thing even when nobody is looking. These are two things which I don't think many anime showcase or talk about, and they're done in a very nuanced and interesting way. Even if it diverges from the manga and fails to tie up a few plot points and even if the animation early on is a bit rough, the flaws are all made up for by the unique appeal present in the story that is told to me.
I have a funny story about how I got into this one; I looked up "Chrono" because I was curious about the series of RPGs made by Square and it popped up. Gave it a watch and was blown away, one of my only three anime 10/10s. On top of that I ended up disliking Chrono Trigger, something that may be akin to sacrilege to admit in most places. But hey, at least it opened me up to peak. On another note, I also use Chrono Crusade characters on all of my site's buttons because I had originally planned to theme it around the anime; a bit of MayDB lore for all 2 of you who care.
But yeah, try to sell someone on giving your favourite obscure title a watch here! Very interested to see what gets posted.
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